What did Owen to win the Golden Ball

In discussions on soccer, and more particularly those relating to the Golden Ball, someone always says that what l Rau should have one under his belt instead of Michael Owen, who won the award in 2001 when former footballer Real Madrid finished second in the voting, winning the Silver Ball. How much of reason are those who argue that the Spanish striker should have been the winner and how much those who awarded the prize for English football? In this post we will try to shed some light on this issue remembering what made ​​both players in that 2000-2001 season, when both were in the prime of his career. It should be noted also that this year there was no World Cup or European Championship.

What did Raul

It was the first season as president Florentino Perez and was beginning the so-called Real Madrid of the Galacticos. That season would Figo, who soon formed a good partnership with Raul. This was in the league, where the white club champion ended up with seven points ahead of Deportivo, and Raul would be the top scorer of the season with 24 points. Not less brilliant was his season in the Champions League, but could not repeat the title last year after falling in the semifinals against Bayern eventual champion. However, Raul was the top scorer with seven goals and was named the best striker in the tournament.

But Raul's successes were not over. Months later, in the Supercopa of Spain, Madrid certified the victory at the Bernabeu against Zaragoza with a 3-0 win and the star of the meeting was the white squad, author of a hat trick. In short, Raul was one more season lucid individual collective level, but will not spare him from winning the league and Super Cup. Despite not winning the Champions League tournament that raised three times, was one of the best seasons of his career.

What did Owen

He was only 21, but Owen was already a veteran who had three years to a very high level, and that year was that of his consecration, although he had dazzled the world in the 1998 World Cup with only 18 . The 2001 will be a year that Liverpool fans will never forget because it was the first in which an English club raised five cups, and Owen was vitally involved in all of them. Unlike Raul, Owen did not win the league and was top scorer of the championship, but won everything else. In league, Liverpool was third with 69 points, one fewer than Arsenal and Manchester United eleven. Owen scored 16 goals.

But this season, Liverpool would win the Cup UEFA in that unforgettable final against Alaves (Owen scored in that final), the FA Cup when they beat Arsenal with two goals from their star, and the League Cup. The wins were not there: in summer, the Liverpool defeat to Bayern in the UEFA Super Cup and Charity Shield in Manchester. In both games, the winning goal was the work of Owen. In short, it was a great year for both the club and for him, whose finale was the Golden Ball, the second youngest to win at 21, only eight months older than Ronaldo in his day. At 32 years, after countless injuries and after finishing contract with Manchester, now lives his worst moment as being without professional equipment.

The FIFA World Player

Usually, until the fusion FWP and the Golden Ball award-winning agreed, but that year had diametrically opposite results. In the Golden Ball, Owen stayed ahead of Raul with 176 points and 140 from Madrid. Kahn was third with 114. However, the FWP Figo rewarded with 250 points, second with 238 being Beckham and Raul third with only 96. To find Owen have to go down to the eighth! place with 61 points, behind Kahn, seventh, or Veron, sixth. In the Golden Ball, Figo and Beckham was sixth, fourth. This gibberish responds to one of two questions: excessive difference of opinion or lack of credibility of these awards?

Conclusion

I am the first who would like that Raul had a Golden Ball in his resume and I wish I had won that year, but after analyzing what made ​​one and the other did not seem so disproportionate that Owen was the winner as many have seen over the years. It is true that Raul was more significant in the two most important tournaments, league and Champions, Owen season but was to frame with five titles and vital importance in all with a good number of goals and great performances. Indeed, equality was evident in the voting, but the triumph of English is not as unfair as it seemed.